Motor-compressor unit



y 1969 B. B. HANNIBAL ET AL 3,445,059

MOTOPPCOMPRESSOR UNIT Filed Sept. 25, 1967 Sheet of 2 mvzsmon: 8/11) at 6494 4 /84;

404 .& flat 5e A T TOR/V5 KS United States Patent 3,445,059 MOTOR-COMPRESSOR UNIT Billy B. Hannibal, Tecumseh, and Paul B. Hover, Clinton, MiclL, assignors to Tecumseh Products Company, Tecumseh, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Sept. 25, 1967, Ser. No. 670,240

Int. Cl. F04b 39/00, 39/12 US Cl. 230-235 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A conventional motor-compressor unit for a refrigeration system suspended by spaced coil springs within its housing, which can be hermetically sealed. The springs individually thread at their lower ends into peripherally spaced sockets in the compressor unit and at their upper ends threadedly engage hanger brackets individually receivable in mounting sockets peripherally spaced about the interior of the housing. The motor-compressor unit with the springs and brackets attached is lowered into the housing in a vertical position with the brackets initially telescoping with a clearance fit into the sockets until each bracket encounters a further portion of the socket in which it has a friction fit. The unit can then be released whereupon it will be temporarily supported for further forcible adjustment of each bracket in its socket as required to obtain the desired leveling, spacing or other orientation of the motor-compressor unit in the housing. Then each socket is crimped into fixed holding relation with its bracket to thus finally and permanently afiix the motor-compressor unit in the housing.

An object of this invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive structure for suspending a motor-compressor unit in a housing.

More particularly the invention contemplates an improved spring hanger structure for mounting a motorcompressor unit in a housing which is economical, provides easy and eflicient orientation or positioning of the motor-compressor unit within the housing, and which lends itself to a more compact structure.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through a hermetically sealed motor-compressor showing our improved spring suspension.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 22 of FIG. 1 showing the motor-compressor unit installed in the housing.

FIG. 3 is a detail of the socket and bracket in initially telescoped relation.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the bracket and socket looking down on FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows the bracket and socket in their final positioned relation after the socket has been crimped to lock the bracket in the socket.

FIG. 6 is a vertical section along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

Shown in the drawings is a conventional electric motorcompressor unit 1 for a mechanical refrigeration system, and a housing for the unit made up of a lower casing 2 and a cover 3. Reference may be had to the patents to Touborg 2,274,943 and Warner 2,809,872 for a further showing of a conventional motor-compressor unit for a mechanical refrigeration system. The subject spring suspension system provides a three point suspension of the motor compressor unit within the interior of the housing of the hermetic unit in the same manner as shown in the Hannibal Patent 3,089,639.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the suspension structure preferably comprises three identical spring hanger assemblies 10, 10' and 10" each comprising three pieces: a tension coil spring 12, a spring mounting bracket 14, and a mounting socket 16. Bracket 14 comprises a fiat plate 28 and a tang 26. The lower end 18 of spring 12 is screwed into a threaded hole 20 in crankcase 22 and the upper end 24 of the spring threadably receives the notched tang 26 (FIGS. 3 and 5) of bracket 14. Plate 28 is adapted to be inserted downwardly between the arms 30 and back 32 of socket 16 and held in vertically adjusted position by crimping arms 30 toward back 32 to force a portion 37 of each arm 30 into the associated side notch 34 of back 28 (FIGS. 5 and 6). This is done with a suitable crimping tool during installation of the compressor-motor unit in the casing 2 of the housing. A pair of horizontally spaced bosses 36 are formed in back 32 of socket 16 which are dimensioned relative to arms 30 such that plate 28 has an interference fit between bosses 36 and arms 30. Socket 16 has two projections 38 for projection welding of the socket to the inner surface of casing 2. Socket 16 also has a pair of ears 40 which extend horizontally from its lower edge beneath arms 30 which provide a finger grip for holding the socket when it is being projection welded to the casing and which also provide a lower limit or stop for bracket 14.

To install motor-compressor unit 1 in casing 2, brackets 14 are first assembled to springs 12 by screwing tangs 26 into the upper ends 24 of said springs until the upper ends are adjacent or abut the offset portions 42 of brackets 14. The lower ends 18 of the springs are then screwed into the threaded sockets 20 in the crankcase. With the three spring hanger assemblies 10, 10 and 10" thus assembled, the motor-compressor until is lowered into the open upper end of easing 2 with plates 28 of brackets 14 each aligned vertically with the upper end of its respective socket 16. Plates 28 are each slidably inserted in the space between arms 30 and back 32 of its respective socket 16 until the lower edges of plates 28 hang up or abut on bosses 36 of its respective socket 16. This occurs when backs 28 are about halfway down in sockets 16 (FIG. 3). The assembler can now let go of the motorcompressor unit and the same will be temporarily suspended in the lower half of the housing.

Next, the assembler drives each bracket 14 further downwardly in its socket whatever distance is required to properly suspend the motor-compressor unit with its shaft upright in casing 2 and with proper clearance between the unit and casing all the way around the unit (FIGS. 1 and 5). Due to the interference fit between socket 16 and plate 28 of bracket 14, the unit will remain suspended as the brackets are driven downwardly in stages to their required final adjusted position. When the motor-compressor unit is properly adjusted and oriented in the casing, a clinching or crimping tool is used to force arms 30 of socket 16 against the side margins of plate 28 with sutficient force to deform portions 37 of arms 30 into side notches 34 of plate 14 to thus positively lock bracket 14 at its properly adjusted position in socket 16. Cover 3 may then be hermetically secured on casing 2 (FIG. 1).

Preferably spring 12 is a helical coil spring having its end convolutions 18 and 24 of a lesser diameter than the intermediate convolutions 25 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. This spring configuration permits the use of heavier wire stock in the spring within a limited space, thereby enabling the use of a spring which is strong enough to withstand shipping stresses and yet flexible enough to provide the normal resilient suspension of the motor-compressor unit in the housing.

We claim:

1. In a mechanical refrigeration system including a motor-compressor unit and a housing adapted for receiv- 2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein one of said socket and bracket members has at least one notch and the other of said members is deformed into said notch to secure the socket and bracket members together in interlocked relation.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein one of said bracket and socket members is dimensioned with respect to the other of said members to provide a clearance fit when the bracket is partially inserted in the socket member and an interference fit when the bracket is further forced into said socket member.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 wherein one of said socket and bracket members is provided with at least one projection whereby when the bracket is telescoped in the socket the projection provides an interference fit between the said socket and bracket members.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 wherein said projection is positioned so that the bracket can be partially inserted within the socket with a clearance fit and whereby upon further insertion of the bracket within the socket the projection on one member coacts with the other member to provide an interference fit preparatory to crimping the said members together.

6. In a mechanical refrigeration system including a motor-compressor unit and a housing adapted for receiving said unit, the improvement for mounting said unit in said housing comprising support means associated with said housing in the form of a plurality of socket members located in spaced relation within the housing and opening to the interior of the housing, each said socket extending axially of the housing, a plurality of bracket members each telescopically engaged in its respective one of said sockets, each said socket member and associated bracket member being crimped together in interlocked relation, and resilient means interconnecting each of said brackets and said motor-compressor unit for yieldably suspending said unit in the housing.

7. In a mechanical refrigeration system including a motor-compressor unit and a housing adapted for receiving said unit through one end of said housing, the improvement for mounting said unit in said housing comprising a plurality of sockets secured in spaced relation within the housing, each of said sockets having an open end facing toward said one end of said housing, a plurality of brackets each telescopically engaged in one of said sockets via said open end thereof, and resilient means interconnecting each said bracket and said motor-compressor unit for yieldably suspending said unit in the housing, said sockets each comprising a back and a pair of arms disposed one along each of the edges of said back, said arms extending toward one another spaced from one side of said back and terminating at end edges spaced from one another to define an axially extending slot therebetween, said bracket being received in the spaces between said arms and said back of said socket with an interference fit.

8. The combination set forth in claim 7 wherein each of said brackets is in the form of a plate having a notch in each edge thereof with each of said notches located between said back of said socket and its respective arm of said socket, each said arm being deformed into its respective bracket notch to permanently secure said socket and bracket together in interlocked relation.

9. The combination set forth in claim 8 wherein each bracket includes a tang depending from its plate, each tang having an offset portion joining said tang to said bracket plate, said offset portion being narrower thanthe slot of said socket and extending outwardly from said back through said slot to the connection of said tang with said resilient means.

10. The combination set forth in claim 9 wherein each socket has a pair of ears extending transversely of said socket back adjacent an end of each of said arms remote from the open end of said socket adapted to positively limit movement of said bracket in said socket.

11. The combination set forth in claim 7 wherein said resilient means comprises a coil spring for each of said brackets and each bracket has a depending tang with notches along opposed edges thereof for threadably engaging the convolutions of one end of the associated one of said springs.

12. The combination set forth in claim 11 wherein said motor-compressor unit has a plurality of sockets, one for each of said springs, each socket adapted for threadably engaging the convolutions of the other end of the associated one of said springs, each of said springs having eonvolutions intermediate the convolutions at the ends thereof which are larger in diameter than said end convolutions.

13. The combination set forth in claim .1 wherein each said socket has means therein adapted to form first and second spaces in said sockket for receiving said bracket initially in said first space with a clearance fit and then in said second space with an interference sliding fit as said bracket is progressively inserted axially in said socket.

14. A method of assembling a motor-compressor unit in a housing comprising the steps of providing a plurality of first mounting members in spaced relation within the housing, attaching a corresponding plurality of second mounting members to the unit at corresponding locations on the unit, positioning the unit with the second members attached thereto in said housing with each second member aligned with its respective first member, moving the unit into the housing to initially and loosely engage each second member with its respective first member, releasing the unit so that it is suspended temporarily by such engagement with the housing, individually adjusting the engagement of one or more of said second members in its respective first member to thereby properly orient the unit in the housing to a desired final position and then permanently deforming one of said members to permanently interconnect said members and thereby fix the suspension of said unit in the housing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,089,639 5/ 1963 Hannibal 230235 FOREIGN PATENTS 875,547 8/ 1961 Great Britain. 8,199 5/ 1964 Great Britain.

ROBERT M. WALKER, Primary Examiner. 

